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Martok Stonecutter
Martok Stonecutter is a male dwarf NPC and one of the Heroes of Prophecy in the Emeron campaign. Background Martok was born in the Thorgain Thanedom to Theldohr and Misra Stonecutter, a family of renowned stone workers. His mother Misra was a respected stonemason and his father Theldohr was a renowned artist, having made many well placed statues over the years. Martok had an older brother named Dulgram and a younger sister named Jenvia. Martok was a good child but one thing he found he enjoyed was fighting, especially if it was against a bully or for a good cause. He began to listen to the teachings of Clangeddin and attend church there. When Martok was a child, shortly after the birth of his sister, his father died in a troll attack while traveling to the capital on a commission. The family was devastated, and a festering hatred of trolls began to develop in Martok. The Stonecutter family worked with stone for generations and Martok felt the pull to follow in their footsteps, in spite of his strong interest in fighting and the church of Clangeddin. He spent a few years as a minor and even as a gem cutter in his uncles jewelry shop, but he found that while he was capable enough he lacked the passion of the rest of his family. Eventually he made the decision to officially petition to joint he Church of Clangeddin. Follower of Clangeddin As a new trainee of the church he of Clangeddin was put through his paces and trained hard. He had received basic training with an axe and hammer as a youth, as most dwarves do, but in the church this training was expanded upon and he received training in many other weapons as well and specialized training in fighting with a weapon in each hand. Shortly after his training was complete he was assigned to a squad to venture into the warrens to deal with a group of goblins that had begun to encroach on dwarven territory and attack outlying settlements. The goblins turned out to be led by a rogue troll who was commanding them and the battle turned bad. The squad slew the troll and goblins, but there were several deaths, including the commander. Still, the mission was a success and Martok was praised for his battle prowess and dedication. Martok spent the next several decades serving the church faithfully and performing battle missions and raids on monsters and once even a campaign into the underdark and doing his best to serve and fight in Clangeddin's name. In 1120 he was selected to travel to Emeron City to determine if there was enough interest in a church of Clangeddin in the human capital. In the Kingdom of Emeron Martok dutifully went to Emeron City, and began talking to the local dwarves and other races and preaching the word of Clangeddin. The success was limited but he was able to establish a small temple in the DeAsic's district for the few followers of Clangeddin who lived or dwelt in the city. Still, it was not a large church and Martok began to feel his skills were being wasted. He wished to bring the fight to the enemy, not fruitlessly labor in an uphill battle to foster Clangeddin's word to people who didn't seem interested in hearing it. To his mind he could best spread his god's glory by slaying the wicked. The answer to his prayers seemed to come in the form of a strange half-elf named Ferris Gerabaldi who visited the temple in the waning days of 1129. Ferris revealed that he and the other Heroes of Prophecy were following one of the ancient Yotorian Prophecies and had collected several artifacts of the gods, among them the Battle Axe of Clangeddin. However, the weapon could only be properly wielded by a dwarf who worshiped the war god, and Ferris was looking to hire someone to help. Martok took this as a sign from Clangeddin himself, and immediately agreed to accompany the Heroes of Prophecy, moved beyond words to be honored to hold and wield the holy weapon. With the Heroes of Prophecy Marok went with the Heroes of Prophecy to the halfling village of Cliffshire, continuing their aborted quest for the Playing Cards of Gimo. Afterwords he went with them to fight an impostor who had taken the place of Eddie Drezzen for many years, assisting the Heroes in a grand battle against the villain and his men. Martok's called upon the holy power of Clangeddin to smite the villain with fire, which ended up burning the manor house to the ground during the battle. Later they traveled to Home and were able to rescue the real Eddie Drezzen, who had been suspended in animation and was quite grateful. Return to Thorgain Evidently the prophecies called for the heroes to travel to the Thorgain Kingdom to attempt to secure the next few artifacts, and Martok was all too happy to see the mountains again. They traveled to Gnomedon to recover the Eyeglass of Garl Glittergold ''though in the process they were forced to do battle with the red dragon Ruby, ultimately slaying her. Martok strongly felt that surviving and proving victorious against such a foe only further reinforced that his actions were being guided by Clangeddin himself. The group next traveled to Thorgain City where they learned where the enemies final ritual to bring their foul god, The Dragon Queen, into Goric would take place. They moved to secure the ''Hammer of Moradin which was held in the possession of the Church of Moradin. They decided to warn the church that a dragon was likely going to come for it. The church's chief guardian, Balim Silverblade, ultimately was convinced to allow the Heroes of Prophecy to help guard the hammer. That night, the green dragon Emerald took the form of Balim and was able to cast a spell that incapacitated the guardians just long enough for him to flee. The heroes gave chase, but Emerald, still disguised as Balim, ordered the other defenders of the church to attack the Heroes of Prophecy while a liche lobbed spells at them to further confuse and slow the heroes down. The fight turned out to be incredibly fierce. The heroes managed to slay the liche, but Emerald got away with the Hammer of Moradin. Worse, Dedekind was killed and Taltharian and Martok were turned into statues. The Heroes of Prophecy spent the next few days recovering and convincing the dwarven authorities to field a force to Thorgain Peak. Ferris and Lylena were able to restore Taltharian and Martok, to their normal form. The Battle at Thorgain Peak The Heroes of Prophecy, partially with Martok's help, convinced the dwarven authorities to field a force of troops to travel to Thorgain Peak, where the ritual to summon the Dragon Queen would be performed. General Harlock Hammerhand would lead a hastily gathered force of 200 dwarves there alongside the surviving Heroes of Prophecy: Lylena, Ferris Gerabaldi, Samara, Vestibule, Friar Chuck Goldschläger, Morak Stonecutter, Eddie Drezzen and Taltharian. On the 15th of Unicorn, 1130, the forces reached Thorgain Peak, where they found that the evil wizard Salvok was already performing the ritual behind a seemingly impenetrable magical shield. Worse, the dragons Emerald and Starr were awaiting them and immediately engaged the assembled forces. Thankfully the heroes were not alone. While the others hunted for the final artifacts, Kagami of Towa and Dandy Lion had convinced Baron Christopher Ravenut to march a force to Thorgain Peak to lend assistance. During the immense battle Emerald was slain. While the forces battled the dragons Salvok was able to conclude his ritual and an immense portal opened allowing a five headed dragon to emerge and immediately begin laying waste to the gathered troops, slaughtering scores of soldiers as all five heads breathed death incarnate upon them. However the conclusion of the spell also lowered the shield. Ferris was able to slay Salvok and the Heroes of Prophecy stormed the portal and were able to force the Dragon Queen back to her own realm. As the portal closed and the Dragon Queen was banished from Goric forever more, the clouds begin to coalesce into the shapes of heads. The God's whose artifacts had been used appeared to the mere mortals of the world. The deities offered a boon to each of the Heroes of Prophecy. Once granted, the artifacts vanished and the clouds dispersed leaving the skies peaceful once again. After the Battle at Thorgain Peak After the Battle at Thorgain Peak Martok was recalled to Thorgain City where he was publicly praised for his efforts by both the High Priest of the Church of Clangeddin and Thane King Farim Ironbreaker himself. He was promoted and served in the temple in the capital, often at the court of King Farim. He would periodically command combat missions and forays against the underground enemies of the kingdom. In 1139 the High Priest of Clangeddin died of old age, and with the endorsement of Thane King Farim Martok was named the new high priest of Clangeddin. Abilities Martok has grown old but he is still a strong and powerful warrior, capable with many different weapons, and still preferring to fight with his silver battleaxe whenever possible. He is also a very powerful cleric, able to call upon mighty magics and miracles up to the seventh circle of power. Category:Emeron Category:Characters Category:NPCs